Usopp the Liar

On the streets of Rolf Town.

A curly-haired boy with a long nose ran through the entire town, panting heavily as he shouted himself hoarse:

"Pirates... are here!!"

"Everyone, run!!"

Even though he was gasping for breath, he failed to cause the panic he had expected.

The windows on both sides of the street remained tightly shut, with the occasional helpless sigh drifting out.

Seeing this, the boy stopped, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. He planted his hands on his hips and threw back his head with a laugh.

"Pirates or whatever... I was just fooling you! Wahahahaha!"

Clang!

The moment he finished speaking, a frying pan flew out of a window as if it had eyes, striking the back of the boy's head with perfect accuracy.

"Ow... you bastards!"

Usopp clutched his head, tears nearly spilling from the pain.

"You liar!! I'll teach you a lesson!"

"Usopp! You're pulling this again, you bastard!"

"Today, we're definitely going to make you pay!"

As if awakened by that cry of pain, the townspeople angrily threw open their doors, brandishing brooms and rolling pins as they loudly berated Usopp.

Faced with the enraged townspeople, Usopp was not afraid in the slightest. Instead, he made a face and laughed loudly.

"Come on! Come on! Catch me if you can!"

"Don't let him get away! Catch him!"

The furious crowd immediately rushed forward.

But Usopp had clearly prepared for this sort of situation.

Like a nimble monkey, he darted left and right, relying on his familiarity with the terrain and his "running away skills" to successfully shake off everyone chasing him.

A short while later, atop a large tree at the edge of town.

Usopp lay comfortably across a thick branch, watching the grumbling crowd leave in the distance as he let out a smug laugh.

"Hehe, catching the great Usopp is still impossible."

"Ah! Captain Usopp!"

Just then, two childish voices came from beneath the tree.

"The Usopp Pirates have arrived!"

Usopp sat up and looked down to see two little boys in headscarves gazing at him with admiration.

"Ah, Chinjao, Carrot. You're here."

As he spoke, Usopp nimbly jumped down from the branch and struck a cool pose. Then he looked around in confusion.

"Hm? Why are there only two of you? Where did Onion go?"

The moment he finished speaking, urgent cries came from the end of the winding dirt road in the distance.

The three of them turned around.

"Ah, it's Onion!" Chinjao pointed at the small figure racing toward them.

"What's he shouting about?" Carrot listened carefully.

"Waaah! Waaah! Waaaaah!!"

As he drew closer, the three of them finally heard what Onion was yelling.

"This is bad! This is bad! Pirates are here!!"

Moments later, Onion ran up to them, panting heavily.

Covered in sweat and pale-faced, he pointed behind him.

"T-This is bad, Captain Usopp! Pirates are here! A pirate ship flying a skull flag... it's, it's at the North Coast!!"

"You're kidding, right, Onion?"

Usopp froze for a moment, then patted Onion on the shoulder with an approving look.

"Not bad. You almost fooled even me. That kind of acting deserves praise!"

"It's true! It's true!!"

Onion was so anxious that he was nearly crying, wildly waving his arms. "I saw it with my own eyes! It really was a pirate ship!"

Seeing the terrified expression on Onion's face, Usopp's smile stiffened.

"R-Really?"

His face went pale with shock. His legs began trembling on their own, and his body instinctively backed away.

"Ah... well, I just remembered that I haven't fed my little turtle yet!"

With that, Usopp turned and took off at full speed, so fast it was astonishing.

"I have something urgent to do! I'm going home first!!"

"Ah?! He ran away!!"

Onion, Chinjao, and Carrot stared dumbfoundedly at their captain's retreating back.

Onion could not help shouting, "Captain Usopp!! There are only four of them!! Didn't you always say you wanted to become a brave pirate?!!"

Screech—

Hearing "four people" and "brave pirate," Usopp abruptly stopped in the middle of his mad dash, his shoes kicking up dust as they scraped the ground.

He stiffly turned around, forcing out a confident smile.

"Ahahaha... that was just a warm-up. The North Coast, right? I accidentally went the wrong way."

Usopp wiped away a cold sweat and waved grandly.

"In that case, let's go take a look! Follow me! Usopp Pirates, move out!"

"Yes!!"

The three little boys immediately widened their eyes and excitedly followed after him.

Meanwhile, at the North Coast.

It was nearing evening. The distant horizon seemed to be covered in burning flames from the setting sun, its waters glittering.

"Rustle..."

A sailing ship flying the Straw Hat Jolly Roger slowly pulled up beside the beach.

A group of four climbed down the ladder.

Victor stepped onto the soft sand, took a deep breath of the earth-scented air, and let out a long sigh.

"Phew... land really is more comfortable."

"Yes, after all, someone can't even swim when they're at sea. I wonder who that could be~" Nami teased from behind him.

"Three hundred and ten million Beli."

"You bastard!"

Victor won today's round.

"It's been so long since we came ashore!!"

Luffy and Zoro also stood on the beach, stretching hard enough for their joints to crack.

"Nami, there's a village up there, right?" Luffy asked, turning to her.

"Yeah. According to the map, it's a small village called Syrup Village," Nami confirmed.

"Great!"

The moment Luffy heard there was a village, his eyes instantly turned into pieces of meat. He immediately took off toward the slope.

"Then—meat! Meat! I want meat!!"

"Luffy! Wait!"

Just then, Zoro suddenly looked toward the bushes atop the cliff ahead. He frowned, one hand instantly resting on the hilt of his sword.

Luffy skidded to a stop and turned back. "Zoro? What is it?"

"Danger," Zoro said in a low voice, his gaze sharp.

"Ah?!"

Hearing the word danger, Nami let out a reflexive scream and instantly ducked behind Victor, clutching his clothes as she peeked out with half her head.

"Danger? Where?"

"Don't even think about passing through here!!"

A loud shout suddenly rang out from above the cliff.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

A rain of small stones immediately shot toward Luffy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Luffy frantically dodged left and right. "What is that?! Bullets?"

Zoro frowned, caught one, and opened his palm to inspect it. "Small stones?"

As everyone wondered what was happening, rustling suddenly came from the bushes above.

Then, one skull flag after another rose from the bushes, packed so densely that it looked like thousands of troops were lying in ambush behind them.

"Whoa!!"

Rather than being scared, Luffy's eyes widened. He waved both hands and shouted excitedly.

"That's amazing! So many flags!"

"Hey, Luffy, is this really the time to admire them?"

Nami hid behind Victor, her face full of exasperation as she looked at that single-celled organism.

Then she noticed that Victor's shoulders in front of her were trembling slightly as well. She could not help looking up at him angrily.

"What are you laughing at now?!"

Victor smiled and pointed upward. "Nothing. I just think this scene... is pretty cute."

"Ahem!"

That voice came from the cliff again, this time carrying a trace of forced authority.

"Hey! Pirates down there! This is the territory of the great pirate captain—Usopp!!"

A long-nosed figure stood among the flags with his arms folded, shouting down at them.

"For the sake of your lives, I advise you to leave immediately! Otherwise..."

"That's amazing!!" Luffy was still completely oblivious, stars in his eyes.

But Nami keenly noticed something.

She stepped out from behind Victor, narrowed her eyes, and fixed her gaze precisely on the lower half of the man calling himself "Captain Usopp."

His legs were shaking like sieves.

Nami curled her lips into a devilish smile.

"You're bluffing, aren't you?"

Those casual words instantly shattered the atmosphere on the cliff.

"Ah!! You saw through me?! When?!"

Usopp cried out in panic, clutching his head with a frustrated look.

Nami crossed her arms with a smile. "See? He admitted it himself."

"Ah, I accidentally said it! Damn it!" Usopp covered his mouth in frustration.

"What?! It was fake?" Luffy shouted in shock, as if he had been terribly betrayed.

"You only just noticed?! You idiot!" Nami could not help roaring at him.

With his lie exposed, Usopp gritted his teeth and stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

He put on a fierce expression again and pointed down at them.

"Don't get too cocky!! I'm a man with... with eighty million subordinates!!"

"With one order from me, you'll be torn to pieces!"

Nami raised an eyebrow and spoke in a flippant tone.

"Oh? Eighty million subordinates?"

Her gaze swept across the few small heads peeking out from behind the flags.

"Do you mean three?"

"Ah!!! She saw through us again!!"

Onion, Chinjao, and Carrot, hiding behind the flags, screamed in fright upon hearing that.

"Run! That woman is a witch!"

The three tiny figures immediately threw down their flags and ran crying toward the village, disappearing in a flash.

"Hey! Don't run away! You're so disloyal!"

Usopp watched his subordinates flee in despair, his legs trembling even harder.

Nami glanced at Victor, who had been watching the show from the side. Then she bent down, picked up one of the small stones that had been fired at them, and tossed it in her hand.

"After all, I've never heard of pirates using slingshots as weapons," Nami said with a smile.

Just then, Victor, who had remained silent, suddenly stepped forward.

He raised his head, his black eyes fixed on Usopp atop the cliff, his expression utterly serious.

"No, Nami. Don't let your guard down."

Victor spoke in a deep voice.

Nami froze and looked at him in confusion. "What?"

Victor pointed at Usopp and said with a straight face.

"What if... he really does have eighty million subordinates?"

The air froze for a second.

"Go die!!! This island couldn't even fit eight thousand people!!"

Nami's furious roar echoed across the coast. Then a small stone cut through the air and struck the back of Victor's head with perfect accuracy.